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2008
Events that happened in the world of Organised Cirme in the year 2008 Italian and Italian/American Mafia Only. January January 16 - Police arrest 39 Mafia suspects in Palermo, including the son of mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo. January 18 - Sicilian president Salvatore Cuffaro is found guilty of several mafia-related charges. February February 7 – Operation Old Bridge leads to scores of arrests in the United States and Italy. The leaders of the Gambino crime family were indicted and charged with RICO offenses, including acting boss John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico, underboss Domenico "Dom from the 18th Avenue" Cefalu, consigliere Joseph "JoJo" Corozzo, captains Nicholas "Little Nicky" Corozzo, Leonard DiMaria, Thomas "Tommy Sneakers" Cacciopoli, and Frank Cali, as well as over 50 other Gambino soldiers and associates. Joseph "Joe V/Joe Andrews" Vollaro was instrumental in indicting the mobsters, as a close associate of Nicky Corozzo, Vollaro who owned several trucking businesses in Staten Island, wore a wire during extortions and meetings with Corozzo and others. The New York Attorney General's office flipped Vollaro after he was caught with two kilos of cocaine. At the time of the indictment, Corozzo was planning on proposing Vollaro for induction into the family. In addition to the labor and extortion charges, Nicky Corozzo is charged with ordering the slayings of two drug dealers, and family soldier Charles Carneglia is charged with committing five murders dating back to the 1970s. Nicky Corozzo was tipped off by his daughter who is married to another Gambino soldier, and managed to flee before the feds raided his home down the street from hers. February 12 - A Sicilian bishop is given police protection after refusing to take part in the funeral of mafia boss Crocefisso Emanuello. February 13 - Mafia boss Michele Greco died in Rome. Greco was the boss of the Greco Mafia clan and was the leader of the Sicilian Mafia Commission. February 19 - High ranking 'Ndrangheta boss Pasquale Condello, who had been on the run since 1987, is arrested in Italy. March March 22 - 'Ndrangheta boss Luca Megna is shot dead, his wife injured and his five year old daughter is put in a coma after an attack. March 27 - Mobster Giuseppe Cavallo is shot dead in a retribution attack. March 28 - Francesco Capicchiano is killed by two gunmen, amidst fears of a gang war. May May 23 - Italian Police arrest Ndrangheta boss, Giuseppe Nirta, in San Luca. May 26 - Raids in Caserta lead to the arrests of 50 alleged Camorra gangsters, targeting the Iovine clan. May 29 - Nicholas Corozzo, boss of the Gambino crime family, turned himself in to Federal authorities after almost four months on the run. May 31 - The United States announces it is using a drug trafficking law to impose financial sanctions on the PKK, 'Ndrangheta and a Mexican drugs cartel as well as individuals from Turkey, Afghanistan and Venezuela. June June 4 - Nine members of the Colombo crime family, including acting boss, Thomas Gioeli, and underboss John Franzese were arrested for federal racketeering charges. June 14 - Italian anti-corruption activist Giuseppe Basile is stabbed to death outside his home in Puglia. August August 5 - Former Gambino crime family acting boss John A. Junior Gotti. is charged with conspiracy connected to cocaine trafficking and three murders. August 7 - Italian police arrest Paolo Nirta, the head of the Nirta-Strangio 'Ndrangheta clan. August 18 - Acting boss Gambino boss John D'Amico sentenced to two years. August 20 - 'Ndrangheta boss Giuseppe Coluccio is extradited from Canada to Rome. August 22 - Dominick Cirillo, consigliere of the Genovese Crime Family, was released from prison. September September 17 - Over 200 people across Mexico, Guatemala, Italy and the United States, including members of the Gulf cartel and the 'Ndrangheta are arrested in a major anti-drug trafficking operation, Operation Solare. September 18 - 'Ndrangheta boss Francesco Pelle, linked to the long-running San Luca feud, is arrested in Pavia. September 18 - Former NYPD Officers Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa's convictions reinstated by Appeals Court. September 18 - Leading figures in Montreal's Mafia, including Nicolo Rizzuto, Rocco Sollecito, Paolo Renda, Francesco Arcadi, Francesco Del Balso and Lorenzo Giordano, pleaded guilty Thursday morning to charges of conspiracy to traffic drugs, extort, run illegal bookmaking and possess illegal goods. September 18 - 6 African immigrants are shot in what is believed to be a dispute between immigrant African drug gangs and the Casalesi clan of the Camorra in Castelvolturno This event begins to get labelled the Castel Volturno massacre by the media and public. This is followed by a riot the next day. September 20 - Frank Valenti, boss of the Rochester crime family in the 1960s and 1970s died at the age of 97. September 22 - Police arrest Camorra member Alfonso Cesarano in connection with the shooting of the African immigrants in Castelvolturno. The government also announce they are deploying 500 troops in the area. September 29 - A prisoner with ties to organized crime is shot dead by a sniper outside the prison in Varces, France. September 29 - Anti-Mafia police seized apartments, businesses and property belonging to Giuseppe Setola, boss of the Casalesi clan, of the Camorra. October October 3- Vincent Artuso, Capo of the Gambino Crime Family, was convicted of RICO conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering charges in Palm Beach, Florida. October 13- Frank Rosenthal, former Chicago Outfit bookmaker Potrayed by Robert De Niro in the 1997 movie Casino, died. October 16- Nicolo Rizzuto, boss of the Montreal Mafia Family, was freed today and sentenced to 3 years probation. Francesco Del Balso, 38, and Francesco Arcadi, 55 - were each sentenced to a 15-year prison term and will serve 11 years due to time served. November November 2 - Michael "Mikey Cigars" Coppola, a capo in the Genovese crime family, was indicted on the 1977 murder of John "Johnny Coca Cola" Lardiere. November 4 - 88 gangsters are arrested in raids targeting the Camorra, including Gemma Donnarumma, wife of Camorra boss Valentino Gionta. November 7 - Domenico Magnoli, suspected drug trafficker for the 'Ndrangheta, is arrested after a liposuction sting at the La Madonnina clinic in Cosenza. November 24 - Eight members of New York's Lucchese crime family, including acting capo, Anthony Croce, on illegal gambling and narcotics charges by the FBI. If convicted, Croce faces up to five years in prison. December December 11 - New York Federal Prosecutors state that Genovese crime family capo Tino Fiumara ordered the killing of former capo Lawrence Ricci. Ricci was killed during his 2005 trial and his body was later found in the trunk of a car at a New Jersey diner. December 16 - The Carabinieri arrested nearly 100 people in anti-Mafia raids across the southern island of Sicily and in the central region of Tuscany. The police statement said that Matteo Messina Denaro was organizing a new Cupola to restructure the Sicilian mafia and become its top boss. December 16 - Gambino crime family capo, Vincent Artuso who runs the family's South Florida crew was sentenced to nine years in Federal prison. He was convicted of defrauding the security company through real-estate deals in which the Gambino crew bought ADT office buildings far below market value, then leased them back to the company at inflated prices. ADT paid his crew millions of dollars in excess lease payments over a five-year period. December 17 - Mafia boss Gaetano Lo Presti is found hanged in his cell following his arrest several hours before. December 18 - Angelo Prisco, a reputed capo of the Genovese crime family, has been charged for the 1992 killing of Angelo Sangiulo. December 29 - Salvatore Scala, former capo of the Gambino crime family, died at Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina while serving a six-year sentence for shaking down the owners of a Manhattan strip club. Popular Culture Grand Theft Auto IV (video game) Bangkok Dangerous (film) Bank Job (film) Gomorra (film) RocknRolla (film) Deaths January 1 - Salvatore Bonanno "Bill", son to Joseph Bonanno and Bonanno crime family member. February 1 - Wilber Varela, head of Norte del Valle cartel. March - 'Ndrangheta members Luca Megna, Giuseppe Cavallo and Francesco Capicchiano are all killed in what may be the start of a gang war. June 14 - Italian anti-corruption activist Giuseppe Basile. September 18 - 6 African immigrants are shot in what is believed to be a dispute between immigrant drug gangs and the Camorra in Castelvolturno. September 20 - Frank Valenti, boss of the Rochester crime family in the 1960s and 1970s died at the age of 97. September 29 - A prisoner with ties to organized crime is shot dead by a sniper outside the prison in Varces, France. October 13 - Chicago Outfit bookmaker and former casino boss, Frank Rosenthal dies. December - Anthony Trentacosta, Gambino crime family Capo. December 17 - Mafia boss Gaetano Lo Presti is found hanged in his cell. Category:Years